Small Business Marketing Manual

Forward:

08/30/04

This book was written ten years ago in 1994 prior to the popular commercialization of the internet. Many of the concepts outlined here are still very useful and can be applied to any small business. Using these concepts in addition and in conjunction with internet based marketing can create very effective results.

- WW

PREFACE

You must read this manual completely before being able to use it effectively as a tool and a resource.

This manual was compiled to give you a crash course in marketing and to offer some ideas that may not have occurred to you. Since this manual was not designed for any specific business (i.e. a pizza parlor, a record store, etc.) all of the projects & plans may not apply to your business, or they may just need some creative manipulation to tailor them to your business. I will, however, use example businesses when explaining different ideas.

There is some basic information you should know before you use this manual: The manual is made for small business, hence most of the projects are relatively inexpensive. However you should calculate a monthly marketing budget, which should be based on at least 10% of your monthly gross income.

After you see an increase in business then you can raise it to 15-18%. If you want your business to grow you must put at least 10% of your profit back into it through marketing. The money you’re spending should have at least a 30% return (i.e. if you spend $100 in a month it should at least bring $300 more profit into your door).

Large companies spend millions of dollars on advertising and marketing. They know that in this day and age a quality product and quality service are not enough.

So, what is marketing? For all practical purposes we can define marketing as “any and all communication a business entity has with the public for the purpose of generating more business.”

All your marketing should be coordinated. If you collect all your ads, flyers business cards, etc. and put them together they should have similar attributes.

INTRODUCTION

First we are going to go over some fundamental marketing concepts:

IDENTITY

One of the most important things concerning marketing is the ability to create an individual business identity. You need a look, a logo, a type style for your company name, and a color scheme.  This is absolutely necessary! Your name should appear the same every time anyone sees it, making you recognizable and installing a permanent impression in the public mind.

Your business cards, letterhead, envelopes, company truck, uniforms, carpeting, flyers, ad infinitum must all look the same and follow the same color scheme! Consistency is key.

COLOR

Using color instead of black & white in your printed materials increases  the viewers attention, retention and tendency to act on the information!

Beware, using the wrong colors can have a negative effect.

Here are some guidelines:
One thing to remember is that people respond to color emotionally, not logically.  Hot colors like red and orange jump forth while cool colors like green, blue, and purple recede.

• Blue shouldn’t be used with food but is good representing cold.
• Green and Brown are good for natural, earthy type businesses.
• Gray is masculine.
• Red relates to low prices or excitement
• Maroon is contemporary and expensive
• Purple reflects security and dignity
• Yellow is steadfast and confident

You should try to pick just one or two colors. Too many colors will defeat the purpose of defining your identity.

LOGO

Develop a logo. Even if it is just the way your company name is rendered. If you don’t think your creative talents are up to it, invest in having a  professional artist or graphic designer create one for you.

The cost varies from person to person. One person might charge $45 for creating a logo, while it’s not uncommon for businesses to spend up to $10,000 for a reputable designer’s work. Your printer may be able to find a designer to fit your budget.

Everything related to your business should bear your logo. Once again, consistency is key. The more the public recognizes you, the more familiar you become. A consumer is much more likely to make a purchase from a business they are familiar with.

A unique logo which is always in the public eye will ensure public awareness and make you easily recognizable. This will make it easier for customer to feel good about patronizing your business. Your logo should be simple, unique and easy to recognize.

PRINTERS/ COPY SHOPS

If you haven’t already, find a good printer; ask other business owners who they use and check out prices!!!  There is a big difference between a print shop and a copy shop. Copy shops are geared toward short run duplicating jobs, single copies of documents, mailing labels and the like. Most have quick turn around times and convenient hours (many are open 24 hours).

Printers, however, are better for bigger jobs like business cards, letterheads envelopes, etc. When you get business cards, letterheads, envelopes, etc., it’s usually only a few dollars difference between the quantities of 500 and 1000 depending on the complexity. Pay the extra and get 1000; they are an essential tool and should be well circulated.

You will probably want to develop a relationship with both a copy shop and a printer.

Most offer internal charge accounts that you can pay monthly. You or one of your employees will  probably spend a lot of time in these shops, so try to get the same person to go each time. When you go, request the same shop worker every time so you can build a friendship. This will ensure quality service and good prices. Also (and I speak from experience) if you treat the people well it will come back to you. For example, if you usually go in early in the morning, drop off some coffee and donuts. This will benefit you beyond your imagination and probably save you a bundle of time and money!

SELLING POINTS

Define what selling points you are going to concentrate on. Here is an example: John Doe is opening a record store and his concentration is on jazz artists. He decides to name his store  THE JAZZ STORE

One important thing to remember is that your business name should reflect what you do. If you want to use your proper name then you should incorporate a short description of your business. For example:

“JOHN DOE RECORDS- your jazz connection”

Keep this description synonymous with your name so it appears on everything.  I have seen business cards with absolutely no description of the business. One that comes to mind simply said Bob Smith Incorporated with an address and phone number. When I found the card in my wallet I didn’t even remember where I had gotten it. What a huge marketing blunder!

NICHE

If JOHN DOE RECORDS opened and there were already two jazz oriented music stores on the same block, it’s likely that the business wouldn’t last too long. If your selling point is similar to other businesses in your area you may want to either:

A: Narrow down your selling point such as:  Vintage jazz or Modern jazz
B: Change your selling point such as:  “JOHN DOE RECORDS, your Blues Connection.”

MARKETING PLAN

OK, we have covered some of the basics; setting a budget, creating an identity. Using color and creating logo. Using printers and copy shops. And finally defining your selling point.

Now we need to develop a marketing plan. This is essential to good marketing it is simply a map to follow which will help you reach goals of generating more business.

You should put your plan in writing. I will use JOHN DOE RECORDS to illustrate this seven step plan.

1. Marketing purpose:
   To build an increasing repeat customer base.
2. Selling point:
   Vintage jazz records.
3. How to achieve this purpose:
   To alert the public of the large selection of jazz music available from JOHN DOE RECORDS.
4. Target clientele:
   Jazz enthusiasts between the ages of 26-40 years old that live within a 10 mile radius of JOHN DOE RECORDS.
5. Marketing vehicles:
   This section is the largest, but all points are equally important. The vehicles that will be used will be:
   • Advertisements run weekly in the music sections of local papers.
   • Monthly sales on selected artists.
   • Monthly autograph parties; one day that a jazz artist who has released a new album will visit the store and autograph customers copies of their new album.
   • Sponsorship of local jazz concerts.
   • Monthly album giveaways.
   • Short spots on the local FM jazz station.
   • Sponsorship of jazz night at local jazz bars.
   • Monthly mailings to customer mailing list.
   • Descriptive Yellow Pages ad.
   • Classified advertising:“wanted vintage jazz records.”
   • Saxophone key chains with the store logo for giveaways.
6. Budget:
   Our budget will be 10% of our projected gross monthly profits.
7. Identity:
   The Jazz Store’s identity will be portrayed as honest and service oriented. An authority on jazz music, having a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.

This seven point plan will be your roadmap to success. It should be put in writing and kept with all your marketing information. This manual is primarily concerned with providing an array of cost efficient marketing vehicles. 

Your marketing plan is very important and should be reviewed, and if necessary, revised every six months. You can eliminate any vehicles that are not producing results. If one vehicle is working very well you may consider allocating more of your budget to that particular area while eliminating less efficient ones. 

You should, however, keep as many different vehicles as possible. 

Now to select your vehicles: each chapter describes different ones so you can choose which ones you want. Most are very inexpensive so implement as many as possible.

A WORD ABOUT PRINTED MEDIA

Printed media ( newspapers, flyers, cards, catalogs, etc. ) is the cheapest form of communication, and therefore marketing. For this reason, most of the marketing vehicles in this manual involve printed media. 

Advertising space is an important investment. To make sure you are getting your money’s worth keep these things in mind:

• Your ads should be simple and to the point. Use a minimum amount of words.
• All advertising should bear your logo.
• Artwork will make your ad much more eye catching, therefore more effective than just text.
• A few Do’s and Don’ts:
  1. Don’t use large amounts of ALL CAPITAL LETTER in the text of your ad, it decreases readership.
  2. Don’t use a lot of reversed text, it also decreases readership, however, it can be beneficial to headlines containing just a fewwords.
  3. Do use serif type (fonts like Bookman and Times versus sans-serif fonts like Helvetica it will practically double readership.
  4. Do use larger point Capital letters at the beginning of paragraphs. It will also increase readership.
  5. Offer an incentive for potential customers such as a discount.
• Gauge your response - either note on the ad for customers to bring the ad in for a discount or attach a different department number onto your address for each publication you advertise in. This way you can weed out papers that bring in no response and allocate the money toward the ones that do.
• Keep your ads clean, neat, and easy to read. It#8217;s worth the money to invest in a professional designer to make an ad that will run over and over. Most publications offer to design your ad, but you run the risk of having your ads look similar to all the other advertisements. Remember, good advertising should STAND OUTand LOOK GOOD.

GRAND OPENING

If you are opening a new business in a retail location you definitely need to have a grand opening. One mistake many businesses make is announcing their grand opening before they are ready to open. When the date comes around it is postponed because they are not ready. This gives off a very negativeimage.

Do not advertise your grand opening until you are completely ready to open for business. The planning for the grand opening, however, should be complete at least two weeks in advance of the opening date. Give yourself at least a week of advertising prior to your grand opening. Here are some things to do to make your grand opening a success.

• Write a press release and send it to every local publication, radio, and television station in your area.
• Contact all your friends and business associates invite them to stop in on your opening day.
• Decorate the outside of your space with a large Grand Opening sign and colorful balloons.
• Offer something free refreshments, perhaps  popcorn.
• Have a party at your new business.
• Rent spotlights and hire clowns.
• Hire a plane to fly around with a banner announcing your opening.
• Have a drawing for a giveaway. Go all out.

Your opening will be the easiest time for you to get free media coverage and stir up excitement about your business.

Chapter 2:  SALES PACKAGES

COST: NONE


Sales packages help bring up your average sale amount, helping you get the most profit out of every sale.  Sales packages are easy to create. Many businesses use them every day.

All you do is combine a few related products or services into one package that is cheaper than buying them all separately. For example a pizza shop would offer a package that would include a large pizza, an order of bread slicks, two salads, and a six pack of soft drinks for one simple price, such as $14.99. Now if you bought all the items from the menu separately it would add up to $16.75 so the customer saves money. You make a larger sale.

Most customers that would just buy a few of the items, spending less than $14.99, will go ahead and get the “special”  for its value. You should construct a different package deal for every large ticket item you sell. This way you can sell the item’s accessories immediately.

APPENDICES:  Marketing Plans

APPENDIX A:

Restaurant / Food Services

• Announce daily specials in your phone greeting.
• Have servers suggest appetizers, drinks and dessert.
• Include coupons and new menu items on carry out bags and doggie bags. These can also be distributed along with menus to all the businesses in the area. People are always looking for somewhere new to eat lunch.
• Use signs inside and out showing daily specials or special menu items.
• Expand the decor of your restaurant to add to the total experience. If you have a bar area put in video games, a juke box, televise sporting events, or invite small music groups during dinner. One very popular restaurant in Columbus has a flute player and cellist perform during dinner in add ambiance. A macrobiotic cafe in Detroit has a solo acoustic guitar player perform for lunch.
• If you have a family-oriented restaurant, give away balloons with your logo on them. Kids love balloons. See advertising specialties.)
• Offer “dinner for two” specials, group dinners, etc. on your menu.
• Have your customers sign up for your mailing list to receive monthly coupons.
• Hold drawings for free lunches and dinners. Leave a fish bowl for people to drop their business cards into for the drawing.
• Promote business lunches. Offer incentives such as reserved tables, service from the head waiter, or having the head chef come and cheek on the guest. Put this information in a brochure far local businesses. When they want to impress a client they will know where to take them in your Yellow Pages ad, mention your best and most unique dishes.
• Co-Op advertise with local retailers: “Come down to the Main Street Cafe, have lunch and shop at Barbara’s Fashions. Mikes Antiques etc.”
• Sponsor local theater and musical entertainers. Invite them in a free dinner after their performances.
• Advertise your specials in local entertainment publications.
• Use coupons/flyers as inserts in a 2-3 mile radius of your location.
• Have after dinner mints and matchbooks with your restaurant name printed on them.
• Give away dinners for contest winners on a local radio station.
• Have eye-catching artwork on your menu. The price of short-run full color reproductions has come down drastically with the introduction of color laser copiers. A full color menu can add much to the ambiance.
• Print placemats that can he colored with crayons to keep the kids busy while waiting for their food.
• On your customer’s birthday give them a free birthday cake with candles and have your servers singing happy birthday. If it’s their twenty-first birthday, give them a free cocktail or bottle of wine. Just put a sign in your lobby that says “Let us know if it’s your birthday!”
• Make your customers feel special.
• All servers should wear similar outfits (if not uniforms). Everyone should wear name tags at all times, and smile at all times. The first thing servers should do when seating a customer is to introduce themselves. This is a golden rule.

APPENDIX B:

Bars / Nightclubs

• Announce drink specials in your phone greeting, announce specials and upcoming events on your answering machine, and use your number as a hotline for weekly events.
• Have servers and bartenders suggest mixed drinks and pitchers, etc.
• Have a sign at your enhance announcing drink specials and upcoming events.
• Make an area for video games, bar type games, juke boxes, pool tables, televised sporting events, a karaoke machine.
• Bring in live music, have local clothing stores hold a fashion show in your club.
• Giveaways are a little different when dealing with bars and night clubs. The best thing to do is give away a round of drinks to your regulars every once and a while. In a bar, your regulars are a large part of your business and probably bring in more customers than you would expect. Treating them special will have definite positive effects.
• Co-op advertise with local clothing stores and eating establishments that your clientele frequent.
• Advertising in local entertainment publications and on radio stations is the best avenue for bars and night clubs.
• Announce your weekly agenda, what kind of music you will have on a specific night, what D.J. will be playing bands, drink specials (most states do not allow prices to be advertised)
• Bring in guest D.J.’s from neighboring cities.
• Get key chains for your regulars for free admission or just to give away.
• The best thing to do is promote special promotions for different nights. Here are a few examples:
  • Ladies night - Ladies get in free and get special drink prices until midnight.
  • Men’s night - No cover charge, have a female revue. Waitresses in bikini’s.
  • Mug night - Bring in your own mug (up to a certain size, say 32 oz, ) and fill it with draft beer for a special price.
  • Theme nights - Pick a wacky movie and have people who dress up as a character from the movie get in free. Play parts of the soundtrack throughout the night.
  • Two for one night - Make drinks Buy one, Get one free up to a certain time. This can help pick up business on a slower night.
  • All you can drink - Beer and well drinks for one admission price.
  • Mexican night - All Tequila drinks at a special price.
  • Import night - Specials on imported beers.
  • Reggae night, Latino night, etc.
• If you have a nightclub you could use your walls for gallery space, have a monthly opening with different local artists, have an opening reception a few hours before you normally open.
• This way your decor is always fresh and interesting.

APPENDIX C:

IN-HOME SERVICE-HOME REPAIR-LANDSCAPING

• Use your vehicle as a rolling billboard. You can have your vehicle painted or use magnetic signs to display your services, logo, and phone number. This is especially effective when parked in neighborhoods you’re working in. All the neighbors see your name and number.
• Classified advertising can be very effective for this type of business.
• One of the most effective ways to market this business is by going door to door and dropping off door-hangers or flyers. Offer a coupon and list your services on the flyer. If possible use pictures of successful projects you have completed. Customer testimonials are also very effective. For instance “Johns repair service fixed my leaky gutters in no time at all and the price was right.” - Bob M. neighborhood resident.  This way you can hit the specific neighborhoods you want to work in.
• Find a pizza or other food delivery service in the area you want to work in. See if you can do some co-op advertising with them.
• Every home you do work for should go on your mailing list. Every month you can offer a special and send out postcards notifying your past customers. You can also buy mailing lists for specific zip codes.
• Inserts are also good for reaching certain areas.
• Mention your specialty in your Yellow Pages ad.

APPENDIX D:

RETAIL MERCHANDISE - CLOTHING - GIFTS

• Announce sales in phone greeting.
• Suggest accessories
• Compile a mailing list by having a giveaway. Mail out monthly announcements of sales, etc.
• Change indoor signage and displays regularly.
• Mention what makes you unique in your advertising, including the Yellow Pages.
• Co-op advertise with other retailers in your immediate area. If you get enough people involved you can purchase an entire page in a weekly paper and promote the area you’re in.  For example, the ad headline could read: “Great Shopping at Fifth and Main” and then divide up the rest of the space to give each participating business section.
• Sponsorship works well with retail business. The important thing is to sponsor events that appeal to your customers.
• Classified ads can work well for specialty items. Classifieds are ideal for clearance merchandise. Offer gift certificates through other non­competitive businesses. If you are close to a florist, make them available to the floral customers. If someone is getting flowers for a friend, have them offer a package that includes a gift certificate for your store. The florist will make money by purchasing the gift certificates from you at a discount.

Copyright 1994